1989 Air Jordan IV

by Drew Hammell

Legendary performances on the basketball court have always played a key role in the success of an Air Jordan sneaker. One of Michael Jordan’s first seminal moments was “The Shot” in 1989. Whether you’re a Bulls fan or not, you’ve seen the clip of Jordan rising up into the air over a flailing Craig Ehlo and sinking that dagger deep into the heart of every dejected Cavs fan. What followed was an ecstatic Jordan, leaping and pumping his fists with those black-and-red sneakers on: the Air Jordan IV.

That mid-air ballet stance Jordan was immortalized in for his Jumpman logo isn’t the only floating figure of his burned into the memory of ’80s babies.

Since then, everyone from Eminem to KAWS to Travis Scott has put their stamp on the IV. Back in the day, rappers like Jay-Z and Ice-T wore the original models. But the IV wasn’t just for hip-hop artists. Doogie Howser, M.D., was known to sport them from time to time as well. The Air Jordan IV was another masterpiece in sneaker design that transcended age and race—primarily and most importantly because of the man who wore it first.

After the overwhelming success of the Air Jordan III, the project lead for the next model was a no-brainer: Tinker Hatfield. But the designer faced a new challenge: How would he follow up one of the greatest sneakers of all time with something even better? The answer was simple: make some tweaks, but keep the overall design in line with that of its predecessor. When Hatfield designed the Air Jordan IV, he kept many of the elements the same. The “Nike Air” logo was again featured prominently on the heel. The Jumpman logo was back on the tongue, with the addition of the word “Flight” underneath. There was a shiny, visible Air unit in the heel, and an encapsulated, responsive Air unit in the forefoot as well. Like the AJ III, the first two colorways to debut were again “White/Cement” and “Black/Cement.”

There were some clear differences in the design of the Air Jordan IV, too. After striving for elegance and sophistication with the Air Jordan III, Hatfield opted for a more utilitarian approach with its successor. To enhance performance, Hatfield added “over-molded” mesh paneling to promote breathability. The urethane-coated mesh netting was dipped in soft plastic, then Air was blown through the mesh to clear out the plastic in between. In theory, this new technology allowed the foot to breathe more compared to sneakers with fully leather panels.

Along with the mesh paneling was a synthetic leather called Durabuck on the upper, which was more cost-effective and animal-friendly. The AJ IV also featured multiport lacelocks and wings, which had extra holes on each side of the shoe for a more tailored fit. The sneaker could be laced in different patterns for a more customized look. The words “Air Jordan” were also stitched inside the tongue, upside down. Wearers could flip the tongue down (kind of like the way Jordan stuck his tongue out) so that “Air Jordan” could be read right side up. The design, more complicated than the III’s, foreshadowed and set the tone for a decade of techy-looking shoes to come. Lines became more angular, shoes more decorated—the Jordan IV played a big part in this shift. Though Jordan wouldn’t debut the IV until the NBA All-Star Game in February 1989, there was a “first look” image of both the “White/Cement” and “Black/Cement” in the November 16, 1988, issue of Sports Illustrated. Sitting on a desk with both colorways, Nike cofounder Phil Knight is seen smiling and holding up the “White/Cement” model.

The official debut of the AJ IV came when Jordan laced it up for the All-Star Game on February 12, 1989, in Houston. MJ rocked the “Black/Cement” colorway in the main event and scored 28 points. Just like the previous year, Nike dropped commercials featuring Jordan and Spike Lee, aka Mars Blackmon, during the game. And also like the previous year, Nike bought an ad in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, showing the model. The Air Jordan IV released in the “White/Cement” and “Black/Cement” colorways that month for $110, which was $10 more than the Air Jordan II and Air Jordan III. It was the first global release for an Air Jordan model and was a roaring success.

Adding to the new model’s lore was “The Shot,” which, on May 7, 1989, sent Jordan and the Bulls into the second round of the 1989 NBA Playoffs. Incredibly, during the timeout before Jordan made history, coach Doug Collins drew up a play to have center Dave Corzine take the final shot. Collins believed the Cavs would never expect Jordan not to get the ball. But Jordan quickly put an end to that plan by slapping the clipboard and shouting, “Just give me the fuckin’ ball!”

Jordan credited his focus to a pregame locker room ritual that included listening to “Giving You the Best That I Got” by Anita Baker, a song that inspired him and his teammates to give it their all because they had nothing to lose. “We’re going to New York, baby,” the twenty-six-year-old Jordan confidently proclaimed after the victory.

That summer, a sample pair of the “White/Cement” Air Jordan IV appeared on the feet of Buggin’ Out in Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing. With Lee continuing to link Jordan Brand to hip-hop, the cement was hardening for the rise of sneaker culture in the ’90s and beyond.

The next NBA season, two more colorways of the Air Jordan IV released: the “Military Blue” and “Fire Red” versions.

Like the Air Jordan III, the Air Jordan IV has retroed a dizzying number of times over the years, initially returning after Jordan’s second retirement from basketball in 1999–2000. Along with the OG “White/Cement” and “Black/Cement” colors, Jordan Brand also released three new colorways over the course of late 1999 and early 2000, first among them the “Columbia” in August 1999. All three featured distinct changes from the originals, including leather paneling instead of mesh and a Jumpman logo on the heel instead of the standard “Nike Air” branding. Though the design variations were not drastic, the new colorways were the first non-OGs to release, ushering in the era of classic Jordan silhouettes presented as “lifestyle” models instead of just performance sneakers. Their success proved that consumers had an appetite for classic silhouettes with a modern twist. This opened up a huge revenue stream for Jordan Brand, which has applied countless new colorways to heritage models in the twenty years since.

In August 2006, Jordan Brand released the “Thunder” and “Lightning” Air Jordan IV models. Both sneakers were sold on jumpman23.com—signaling how sneakers would be bought and sold less than a decade later—and were bundled with matching merchandise, which raised the price of each. The “Thunder” colorway, black with yellow hits, was packaged with a varsity jacket and retailed for a total of $500. The “Lightning” colorway was yellow with hits of black and was packaged with an Air Jordan “Flight” T-shirt; it retailed for $250. Both models were rare when they released, which drove up hype and demand. In 2012, the “Thunder” returned, but the “Lightning” has yet to release again.

The Air Jordan IV has also served as a canvas for artists and brands for decades. The Air Jordan IV “Undefeated” released in 2005, with only seventy-two pairs made. Eminem’s Air Jordan IV “Encore” was limited to just fifty pairs back in 2005. His Carhartt release was extremely limited as well in 2015. In 2017, Jordan Brand also teamed up with KAWS, aka Brian Donnelly, to drop a cool grey/black version of the IV. JB retroed a friends-and-family-only “White/Cement” Air Jordan IV, commemorating the movie Do the Right Thing, in 2017. In 2018, Travis Scott collabed with Jordan Brand to release his own version of the IV.

More than thirty years after its release, most sneakerheads would rank the Air Jordan IV among the five greatest silhouettes of all time. The design was flawless, and the shoe was easy to wear in any setting. Jordan’s game kept on evolving at lightning speed, just like the shoes Hatfield was creating for him. MJ continued to dominate the game in the AJ IV, being named to his fifth consecutive All-Star Game and winning the league scoring title for the third-straight year. Though the Bulls came up short against the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals, Jordan put the league on notice that the team was close to getting to the NBA Finals. His run on the court and in the sneaker world was just getting started.

Honorable Mention
Reebok Pump

by Mike DeStefano

Some might have fallen in love with the Reebok Pump when they saw Atlanta Hawks star Dominique Wilkins tell Michael Jordan—through the camera—to “Pump up and Air out” in a 1989 commercial in which Reebok took a not-so-subtle jab at its competitor Nike. Maybe it was when Dee Brown covered his eyes and took flight in the Omni in the 1991 NBA Slam Dunk Contest. Those a little younger might have begged their parents for a pair after watching SmackDown and seeing WWE star John Cena pump up the tongues on his pair before hitting a Five Knuckle Shuffle on his opponent back in the 2000s. Whatever your introduction to the sneaker was, there’s no denying the significance of the Reebok Pump.

The technology, which has been used in many designs over the years, debuted in 1989. The high-top basketball sneaker designed by Paul Litchfield came with a $170 (about $363 today) price tag, which is expensive even by current standards, but found no problem flying off shelves behind the endorsement of some of the NBA’s biggest stars of the era, like the aforementioned Hawks forward and Dennis Rodman. Its selling point, of course, was the basketball-shaped Pump on the tongue, which could be used by wearers to inflate an inner membrane with air for a customized fit. The idea was inspired by an Ellesse ski boot with an inflatable liner—Reebok had recently bought the sportswear company—said to have been suggested by Paul Fireman, Reebok’s president at the time.

Reebok’s answer to Nike Air was as much a genuine performance tool as it was a fun novelty for kids to mess around with. The brand pulled no punches in addressing its competitor, either. One of the more notable instances arrived by way of a commercial showing two bungee jumpers hopping from a bridge, one wearing Nikes, the other Pumps. The former was implied to have died because his sneakers, at the end shown hanging from the cord, were too loose, as a voice-over said, “The Pump, from Reebok. It fits a little better than your ordinary athletic shoe.” The ad was later banned.

The Pump also made notable cameos in cult classic ’90s films like Juice, Above the Rim, and Wayne’s World. Its overall success prompted Reebok to implement Pump technology across its lineup over the course of the decade in other popular models like tennis pro Michael Chang’s Court Victory, the Instapump Fury, and Shaquille O’Neal’s Shaq Attaq.

Calling it Reebok’s biggest technological achievement might not do it justice.